December 14
Events *1287 - St. Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people. *1542 - Princess Mary Stuart becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland. *1702 (according to the old calendar; January 30, 1703 by the new calendar) - The Forty-seven Ronin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenged the death of their master. *1751 - The Theresian Military Academy was founded as the first Military Academy in the world. *1789 - Dartmouth College is chartered by King George III of England. *1782 - Montgolfier brothers first balloon lifted on its very first test flight. *1799 - Death of George Washington, first president of the United States. *1819 - Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state. *1825 - Advocates of Liberalism in Russia rise up against Tsar Nicholas I and are put down in the Decembrist Revolt in St. Petersburg. *1836 - The Toledo War unofficially ended. *1896 - The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company. *1900 - Quantum Mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law. *1902 - The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from Ocean Beach to Honolulu. *1903 - The Wright Brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk. It crashes, and 3 days later, after repairs, they get it to fly. *1907 - The schooner ''Thomas W. Lawson'' runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Scilly Isles in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die. *1911 - Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole. *1914 - Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressist Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires. *1918 - Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne. *1939 - Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations. *1941 - German military commander of Kharkiv, Ukraine issued an order, according to which the Jewish population was to move to the city periphery within 2 days, into the barracks of the works of a machine factory. In the next days 15,000 Jews were shot at Drobitsky Yar. * 1941 - World War II: Japan signs treaty of alliance with Thailand. *1946 - The UN General Assembly votes to establish its headquarters in New York City. *1947 - The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded in Daytona Beach. *1955 - Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Portugal, Romania and Spain join the United Nations. *1958 - The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first-ever to reach The Pole of Relative Inaccessibility in the Antarctic. *1959 - The Motown record label is founded in Detroit by Berry Gordy. *1962 - NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus. *1964 - American Civil Rights Movement: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States - The United States Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Congress can use its Commerce Clause power to fight discrimination. *1972 - Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of Apollo 17. This was the last manned mission to the moon of the 20th century. *1979 - Legendary punk rock group The Clash release London Calling in the UK, a landmark album in rock music. *1981 - Arab-Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset passes The Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the area of the Golan Heights. *1995 - Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by leaders of various governments. *2003 - President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. *2004 - The Millau viaduct, the highest bridge in the world, near Millau, France is officially opened. Births *1009 - Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan (d. 1045) *1503 - Nostradamus, French astrologer (d. 1566) *1546 - Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer and alchemist (d. 1601) *1625 - Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville, French orientalist (d. 1695) *1631 - Anne Conway, English philosopher (d. 1679) *1640 - (baptism date) - Aphra Behn, English playwright and novelist (d. 1689) *1678 - Daniel Neal, English historian (d. 1743) *1720 - Justus Möser, German statesman (d. 1794) *1775 - Philander Chase, American founder of Kenyon College (d. 1852) * 1775 - Thomas Cochrane, British admiral (d. 1860) *1787 - Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Empress of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (d. 1816) *1824 - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (d. 1898) *1866 - Roger Fry, British artist and art critic (d. 1934) *1870 - Karl Renner, President of Austria (d. 1950) *1881 - Katherine MacDonald, American actress and film producer (d. 1956) *1884 - Jane Cowl, American actress and playwright (d. 1950) *1895 - Paul Eluard, French poet (d. 1952) * 1895 - King George VI of the United Kingdom (d. 1952) *1896 - Jimmy Doolittle, American General (d. 1993) *1897 - Margaret Chase Smith, American politician (d. 1995) * 1897 - Kurt Schuschnigg, Austrian politician (d. 1977) *1902 - Frances Bavier, American actress (d. 1989) *1908 - Morey Amsterdam, American comedian and actor (d. 1996) * 1908 - Claude Davey, Welsh rugby player * 1908 - Mária Szepes, Hungarian authoress (d. 2007) *1909 - Edward Tatum, American geneticist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975) *1911 - Spike Jones, American comedian and musician (d. 1965) *1913 - Dan Dailey, American actor (d. 1978) *1914 - Karl Carstens, President of Germany (d. 1992) * 1914 - Attila Petschauer, Hungarian Olympic champion fencer (d. 1943) * 1914 - Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (d. 2003) *1916 - Shirley Jackson, American writer (d. 1965) *1917 - C.-H. Hermansson, Swedish communist leader *1918 - James T. Aubrey, American television executive (d. 1994) * 1918 - B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian yoga advocate *1920 - Clark Terry, American trumpeter *1922 - Nikolay Basov, Soviet-born Russian physicist and Noble Prize laureate (d. 2001) *1923 - Gerard Reve, Dutch writer *1924 - Raj Kapoor, Indian actor (d. 1988) *1925 - Sam Jones, baseball player (d. 1971) *1927 - Richard Cassilly, American tenor (d.1998) *1931 - Jon Elia, Pakistani scholar, poet and philosopher (d. 2002) *1932 - Charlie Rich, American musician (d. 1995) * 1932 - Abbe Lane, American singer and actress *1935 - Lee Remick, American actress (d. 1991) * 1935 - Lewis Arquette, American film actor, writer and producer (d. 2001) *1938 - Leonardo Boff, Brazilian theologian *1941 - Ellen Willis, American journalist (d. 2006) * 1941 - Karan Armstrong, American soprano *1946 - Jane Birkin, British-born actress * 1946 - Patty Duke, American actress * 1946 - Michael Ovitz, American film producer * 1946 - Stan Smith, American former tennis player * 1946 - Ruth Fuchs, East German athlete *1947 - Christopher Parkening, American guitarist * 1947 - Linda Sutton, British artist *1948 - Lester Bangs, American music journalist (d. 1982) * 1948 - Dee Wallace-Stone, American actress *1949 - Bill Buckner, American baseball player * 1949 - Cliff Williams, British-born bassist (AC/DC) *1951 - Jan Timman, Dutch chess grandmaster *1953 - Vijay Amritraj, Indian former tennis player * 1953 - René Eespere, Soviet-born Estonian composer * 1953 - Mikael Odenberg, Swedish politician *1954 - Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (d. 1993) * 1954 - James Horan, American actor * 1954 - Steven MacLean, Canadian astronaut *1956 - Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein skier *1957 - Gary Ferris, American author *1958 - Mike Scott, British singer and songwriter (The Waterboys) * 1958 - Spider Stacy, English musician (The Pogues) *1959 - Jorge Vaca, Mexican boxer *1960 - Bob Paris, American bodybuilder and gay rights advocate *1962 - Ginger Lynn (Ginger Lynn Allen), American adult film actress *1963 - Cynthia Gibb, American actress *1965 - Craig Biggio, American baseball player * 1965 - Ken Hill, baseball player *1966 - Fabrizio Giovanardi, Italian racecar driver * 1966 - Bill Ranford, Canadian ice hockey player * 1966 - Tim Skold, Swedish/American musician *1967 - Ewa Białołęcka, Polish writer *1969 - Scott Hatteberg, American baseball player *1970 - Anna Maria Jopek, Polish singer * 1970 - Beth Orton, English singer-songwriter *1971 - Natascha McElhone, British actress *1972 - Marcus Jensen, baseball player * 1972 - Eric Anderson, American musical theatre actor *1973 - Tomasz Radzinski, Polish-born Canadian international footballer * 1973 - Tia Texada, American actress and singer * 1973 - Thuy Trang, American actress (d. 2001) *1974 - Billy Koch, baseball player *1975 - Justin Furstenfeld, American rock singer *1976 - Leland Chapman, bounty hunter, son of Duane "Dog" Chapman. * 1976 - André Couto, Portuguese racing driver * 1976 - Santiago Ezquerro, Spanish football player *1977 - KaDee Strickland, American actress *1978 - Kim St-Pierre, Canadian ice hockey player * 1978 - Radu Sârbu, singer (O-Zone) *1979 - Michael Owen, English footballer * 1979 - Sophie Monk, Australian actress, singer, and model *1980 - Frankie J, Spanish singer * 1980 - Tata Young, Thai-American singer *1981 - Amber Chia, Malaysian model and actress * 1981 - Emilie Heymans, Canadian diver * 1981 - Johnny Jeter, American professional wrestler * 1981 - Shaun Marcum, American baseball player *1982 - Josh Fields, American baseball player * 1982 - Steve Sidwell, English footballer * 1982 - Anthony Way, British singer and actor *1984 - Chris Brunt, Northern Irish footballer * 1984 - Edward Rainsford, Zimbabwean cricketer *1985 - Tom Smith, Welsh Rugby Union Player * 1985 - Nonami Takizawa, Japanese actress *1988 - Nicolas Batum, French basketball player * 1988 - Vanessa Anne Hudgens, American actress *1989 - Pedro Roberto Silva Botelho, Brazilian footballer *1995 - Princess Olimpia Preslavska of Bulgaria Deaths *1460 - Guarino da Verona, Italian humanist and translator (b. 1370) *1510 - Friedrich of Saxony (b. 1473) *1542 - King James V of Scotland (b. 1512) *1553 - Hanibal Lucić, Croatian writer (b. 1485) *1591 - Saint John of the Cross, Spanish friar and poet (b. 1542) *1624 - Charles Howard, English statesman (b. 1536) *1651 - Pierre Dupuy, French scholar (b. 1582) *1713 - Thomas Rymer, English historian (b. 1641) *1715 - Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1636) *1735 - Thomas Tanner, English bishop and antiquarian (b. 1674) *1741 - Charles Rollin, French historian (b. 1661) *1788 - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer (b. 1714) * 1788 - King Charles III of Spain (b. 1716) *1799 - George Washington, first President of the United States (b. 1732) *1838 - Jean-Olivier Chénier, French Canadian physician and Patriote (b. 1806) *1860 - George Hamilton-Gordon, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1784) *1861 - Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria (b. 1819) *1865 - Johan Georg Forchhammer, Danish geologist (b. 1794) *1873 - Louis Agassiz, Swiss-born American zoologist and geologist (b. 1807) *1902 - Julia Grant, wife of President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant (b. 1826) *1927 - Yulian Vasilievich Sokhotski, Russian mathematician (b. 1842) *1935 - Stanley G. Weinbaum, American science-fiction author (b. 1902) *1947 - Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1867) * 1947 - Edward Higgins, General of The Salvation Army (b. 1864) *1956 - Juho Kusti Paasikivi, president of Finland (b. 1870) *1963 - Dinah Washington, American singer (b. 1924) *1964 - William Bendix, American actor (b. 1906) *1970 - Franz Schlegelberger, German Nazi politician (b. 1876) *1971 - Dick Tiger, Nigerian-born boxer (b. 1929) *1978 - Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish diplomat, writer, historian and pacifist (b. 1886) *1984 - Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer and Nobel laureate (b. 1898) *1985 - Catherine Doherty, social justice activist (b. 1896) * 1985 - Roger Maris, American baseball player (b. 1934) *1989 - Andrei D. Sakharov, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1921) *1990 - Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (b. 1921) *1993 - Myrna Loy, American actress (b. 1905) * 1993 - Jeff Alm, American football player (b. 1968) *1997 - Kurt Winter, Canadian musician (The Guess Who) (b. 1946) * 1997 - Stubby Kaye, American actor (b. 1918) *1998 - Norman Fell, American actor (b. 1924) * 1998 - Annette Strauss, American philanthropist (b. 1924) * 1998 - Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, American civil rights activist and author (b. 1928) *2003 - Jeanne Crain, American actress (b. 1925) * 2003 - Blas Ople, foreign minister of the Philippines (b. 1927) *2004 - Rod Kanehl, American baseball player (b. 1934) * 2004 - Fernando Poe, Filipino actor and presidential candidate (b. 1939) *2005 - Dr. Rodney William Whitaker, American author (b. 1931) *2006 - Anton Balasingham, chief political strategist of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1938) * 2006 - Ahmet Ertegün, co-founder of Atlantic Records (b. 1923) * 2006 - Mike Evans, American actor (b. 1949) Holidays and observances External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:December